The BMW Group Asia said on September 12 that it signed a letter of intent with Vietnamese automaker Truong Hai Automobile JSC (Thaco), delivering its intention to choose Thaco as a new dealer of its BMW and MINI models in Vietnam from January 1, 2018.

The BMW Group Asia chooses Thaco as a new dealer of its BMW and MINI models in Vietnam from January 1, 2018.

The German automaker will wind up its four-year contract with Sime Darby Motors which backs Euro Auto (EAC) - the officially authorised distributor of BMW in Vietnam since 2006 on December 31.

Sime Darby is the world’s third largest distributor of BMW. The giant also holds the rights to sell MINI and Rolls-Royce in many neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and China.

Managing Director of the BMW Group Asia Paul de Courtois said that customers are the group’s top priority and EAC will continue to provide top-notch quality services for current customers of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad in Vietnam.

The BMW is a renowned automobile and motorbike maker with three fascinating brands: BMW, MINI and Roll-Royce. It has 30 production and assembling facilities in 14 countries and its distributing system covers 140 markets worldwide.

In 2014, the group earned 80.4 billion euros from selling 2,118 million cars and 123,000 motorbikes. Its profit before tax was 8.71 billion euros. 

Meanwhile, Thaco, established in 1997, focuses on the production, assembly and distribution of commercial cars for Kia (The Republic of Korea), Mazda (Japan) and Peugeot (the EU).

Its production base covers an area of 400 hectares in Chu Lai Open Economic Zone, Quang Nam province with six automobile assembling facilities, 12 support industry plants and one Research and Development centre. Thaco has 97 showrooms and 59 distributing agents nationwide.

Thaco is currently leading car sales in Vietnam, occupying 40-42 percent of the market share during 2015-2017.

VNA